The Cosmonaut Exhibition to be held in September this year in London

The Cosmonaut Exhibition will be held this September at the British Museum, after it being postponed in 2014. Due to rumours of geopolitical tension between London and Moscow.

Good news for all space fans here in UK, the exhibition will be held in September 2015. It gives a rare glimpse at the original space crafts, engines and suits that have experienced the space environment over the time. This exhibition is brought to you by a collaboration between the Moscow State Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics and the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos.

Originally, the exhibition was planned for November 2014 as part of the UK-Russian Year of Culture. A month before its opening, the British officials postponed the exhibition due to slight problems with some exhibits which caused logistical problems. It was reported by the Art Newspaper, the rescheduling was due to geopolitical tension surrounding Russia and UK. It is said that the event “had fallen victim to the Moscow authorities placing increased bureaucratic obstacles over loans to London.”

The British Museum was quick to dismiss the report by stating “due logistical challenges involved in borrowing 150 objects from 18 lenders, we have decided to move the opening date for the ‘Cosmonauts’ exhibition.”

Mikhail Shvydkoi, The Russian president’s Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation mentioned the importance of the event to be opened in London. It is to project a positive image of Russian culture to the British people despite the political tension.

The space exhibition is expected to display rare Soviet programme related artefacts that never even appeared outside of Russia.